The geopolitics of the Middle East is shifting quickly, and not for the better. What began as a solo act of French diplomatic theatre has now become a chorus of ill-considered posturing.

Within weeks of Emmanuel Macron’s declaration that France will recognize a Palestinian state in September, the United Kingdom and Canada have each signaled that they are considering following suit, albeit in their own ways.

This is not a movement toward peace. It is a movement toward rewarding terror, undermining international law and weakening the leverage needed to resolve this conflict responsibly.

Palestinian self-determination is a legitimate aspiration, but recognition of statehood is not a symbolic gesture to be handed out of impatience. It is a formal legal act with irreversible consequences.

Under the Montevideo Convention of 1933, statehood requires a permanent population, defined territory, a functioning government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. None of these elements exist in any........

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